Don’t be Foiled

By Katie Barreira

I remember a drawer in my nana’s kitchen that was dedicated entirely to neatly folded squares of used tinfoil. Although we find ourselves in the midst of a recession, I won’t push this sort of Depression era scrapping. Instead, here are three great ways to use aluminum foil that will save you loads of time and frustration.

Don’t be…
Foiled by Parchment Paper
Cooking en papillote refers to food that is baked in a neat envelope of parchment paper, which puffs full of steam for gentle cooking and a dramatic presentation when the paper is slit open at the table and the eater is enveloped by the aromatic steam.

It’s all very lovely, but you don’t need to undertake parchment origami in order to packet steam like a pro. Seriously, plenty of restaurants employ the ease and utility of foil to mimic the results of en papillote. The presentation might not be as suave, but it only takes a few seconds to fashion a tightly sealed foil pouch, from which will emerge a delicately flavored, meltingly moist meal. Oh, and did I mention that you can throw out the dishes?

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Nutty Chicken and Sweet Potato Packets
Serves 2

¼ cup chunky peanut butter
2 tablespoons coconut milk
¼ cup chicken broth
½ teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced ½-inch-thick
12 slices sweet potato, sliced 1/8-inch thick
Lime wedges, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. In a small bowl stir together peanut butter, coconut milk, broth, ginger, sugar, salt and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
2. Place1 chicken breast, overlapping slices slightly, in the center of a 14-inch piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Drizzle half of the peanut sauce over chicken, then layer with 6 sweet potato slices.
3. Bring the long sides of the foil together above the food and, without letting the foil touch the top of the potatoes, roll it down a couple times and press together firmly to create a tight seam so that steam won't escape while cooking. Roll in the open ends to form a well-sealed envelope, with an air pocket above the food for the steam to circulate. Make a second packet with remaining ingredients.
4. Place the packets on a cookie sheet. Bake packets until chicken is cooked through and sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve with lime wedges.

Foiled by Loaf Pans
Ever bake up a succulent meatloaf, only to make mincemeat of it when removing it from the pan? Never again!

Start with a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil about 3 times the width of the loaf pan (approximately 18 inches).

1. Turn the loaf pan upside down and mold the foil around the pan.
2. Remove foil cast and turn loaf pan right side up. Flip over the foil and insert into the pan.
3. Leave the excess foil to overhang on either side of the pan; fill pan with your favorite meatloaf mixture and bake.
4. Once foil is cool enough to handle, use the foil wings to pull the meatloaf out of the pan. Pull foil away and admire your perfectly shaped loaf!

Foiled by Burnt Baking Sheets

One of my favorite tricks for crispy, oven-fried chicken (or most any oven-crisped recipe, from home fries to ribs) is to bake the coated chicken pieces on a cooling rack set over a foil-lined baking sheet. This technique allows air to flow evenly around the chicken for faster, more even cooking and also lets the moisture drip off so the chicken isn’t getting soggy in its own juices. But without the foil lining, all of those greasy drippings would be baking themselves hard onto your pan. Rounds of soaking and elbow grease later, you realize that the pan may never be the same, no matter how you scrub. Save the pan and the energy with a simple piece of foil and of course, you can try to rinse and reuse it if you must!

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